Embrace
by jamason
Summary: Chihiro’s parents die in a car accident so she goes home to finish up her parents business. Through her grief she discovers happiness and love in the embrace of the spirit world. ChihiroXHaku.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everyone, I've decided to have a go at a Spirited Away fanfic as I love this movie and its characters. Just to clear up a couple of things, Chihiro is 19 and Haku will have the appearance of a 23-25 year old, his true age will not be disclosed yet ******** Sorry if any references to Japanese culture is wrong, I try to do my research where it is important.**

**This chapter is quite short but I felt nothing else could be written without rushing it. Things will get rolling in the next chapter.**

**I love constructive criticism but any useless 'I think I know everything' flaming comments will not be tolerated.**

**Sorry about any spelling errors, this story was spontaneous, it's late where I am but I wanted to get the first chapter up.**

**ENJOY!**

**Chapter One.**

Chihiro's unseeing eyes gazed out into the field dotted with small cement headstones. It was a beautiful day with light fluffy clouds drifting leisurely across the sky, guided by the soft, spring breeze.

The day was not suited to the events.

The priest snapped Chihiro out of her dream state, he had finished his sermon and was asking her to say her goodbyes to her parents. For the first time since she arrived at the cemetery Chihiro looked down. Her eyes began to mist at the two coffins, ready to be placed into the ground. She quickly placed two white roses on each coffin and whispered her goodbyes. Taking a step back she signalled that she was finished and allowed the other mourners to say their goodbyes.

'_It's not fair!' _Chihiro thought with anguish. The devastating news replayed in her mind again.

_Chihiro had just unlocked the door to her dorm when the phone started to ring. Quickly dumping her books on her desk she rushed to her nightstand and picked up the phone._

"_Hello?"_

"_Is this Chihiro Ogino?"_

"_Yes, how can I help you?"_

"_My name is Officer Shou, I'm sorry to tell you that your parents have been in a car accident.'_

"_Oh my god! Are they OK?" Panic creeping in her voice._

_There was silence for a few moments._

"_Miss Ogino, they did not survive, I'm sorry. It was a freak accident, they were driving home from dinner when a tree collapsed onto the road, your Father tried to swerve out of the way but the car rolled and crashed into another tree."_

_Chihiro had stopped listening and tears slid down her face, crying silently. The police officer continued to talk. He had asked if she had any family and if she could come back home to identify her parents. Chihiro had responded numbly and then curled up into a ball on her bed, crying herself to sleep._

The numbness had not gone away and even after her parents friends and family had offered their condolences and Chihiro was the only one left at the cemetery, she still felt numb, lost and alone.

It was only when the gravedigger had appeared and offered her a kind smile that she decided to go back home.

Chihiro walked into her parent's house and went upstairs, walking past her own room and into her parents. She crawled onto their bed and hugged one of the pillows, inhaling the remaining scent of her Mother and Father. She missed them so much and her grief overwhelmed her but Chihiro could find no outlet.

Her parents had loved her for who she was and accepted her little quirks. They understood her need to go to college and study Japanese myths and legends since her own adventures into the spirit world, never disbelieving her tale. Now she had no one. Holding the pillow closer to her body she wished Haku could be there with her, he would know how to comfort her but no matter how many times she had tried, Chihiro had never found a way to go back, the tunnel that lead to the spirit world had always eluded her. 

'Please Haku, please keep your promise.' She murmured into the pillow.

It was a long time before Chihiro fell into a fitful sleep with tears coursing down her cheeks, dreaming about a white dragon with green eyes who swept her away from the harsh reality of life.

**Reviews are appreciated, I'd totally do it for you ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter. A lot longer than the last one. This should be the end of Chihiro's major mourning, only little weak spots will be shown after this with some major plot, what that is? I have no idea, I'm just rolling with it.**

**I forgot to mention before. **_**Italics **_**for thoughts and flashbacks.**

**Oh and I don't own Spirited away or any of its characters. **

**If any of my references are wrong let me know and I'll fix it.**

**ENJOY!**

Chapter Two.

Chihiro had mopped around the house for three days. Slowly organising her parent's possessions, she had requested to her other family that she do this alone, not willing to reveal anything her parents had kept private. After three days of tears and isolation Chihiro decided to take a walk. She grabbed a thin shawl as there was still a chill in the late afternoon, left over from winter.

She walked down the hill from her house and entered the forest, immediately feeling a sense of calmness. The afternoon sun peeked through the trees and the creatures of the forest could be heard all around. A small smile formed on Chihiro's lips as she observed a pair of Robins trying to court each other.

She knew this path quite well, often walking it when she was a little girl and when she came to visit her parent's during the holidays. So it was quite a surprise when she stumbled on a large rock in the middle of the path. Chihiro landed on all fours and emitted a curse. She turned to examine her injured shin only to come face to face with a statue. Her eyes widened in recognition, it was the same statue she had seen before she had entered the spirit world.

'_I have walked this path so many times and have never seen you again.' _She reflected.

Chihiro leaned forward and poked it in the face just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. It was completely solid. This meant that...

Chihiro looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened in shock to see the entrance to the dark tunnel, exactly the same as before. She grabbed the head of the statue and pulled herself up, hissing at the pain in her shin. There would be a big bruise but nothing too serious. Taking a deep breath Chihiro wrapped the shawl tight around her small frame and hobbled to the entrance.

The thought of seeing her friends again gave her a feeling of excitement, something she had not felt for awhile.

Everything still looked the same, the grassy hills still looked inviting and soft, the dry river still looked unfinished and when she came into the restaurant strip it was still quiet and lifeless. Chihiro walked down the main street until she spied the stairs leading to the bathhouse, it still looked incredibly intimidating. Chihiro looked behind her and was surprised to see the sun had almost set. The restaurants started to light and the mouth watering food tantalised her nose. Chihiro ignored them and turned back to the stairs. As she walked up the bathhouse came to life, beautiful against the night sky.

She stopped at the wooden bridge, the last time she was here Haku had told her to hold her breath otherwise they would see her. Chihiro frowned.

'_What happens if Haku doesn't live here anymore?'_

She decided that the risk of falling into Yubaba's clutches was not nearly as bad as not seeing her friends again. Shadows could be seen moving around in the bathhouse and Chihiro could hear noises from behind her. The spirit ferry must have arrived. She decided to take her chances before the other spirit's came calling. She took a deep breath and started to walk across the bridge. She made sure to walk a little faster this time and kept her hand clamped over her mouth. In a dozen steps she made it across without any problems.

'_That was easy, I guess it was a lot bigger the last time I was here.'_

A few of the bathhouse workers walked past and didn't even notice her. Chihiro smiled to herself when she discovered they could not even see her. Looking up to the main entrance she walked up to the entrance and entered the place that had once been her home for three days.

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Haku's head snapped up, immediately aware there was an intruder in his bathhouse. He left his desk without delay and walked out of his office. As he made his way towards the elevator the air around him started to become charged with crackling energy. His eyes became dark, none of the emerald that they usually were could be seen. He was furious, how could his workers not notice a human in his domain?

When the elevator reached the bottom floor, he could sense the human much stronger but was nowhere in sight. Little did he know that she was already going up in one of the other elevators. His employees could see something was very wrong with their Master.

'Where is Rin!?'

'Three of the frog spirits scampered away to find her. He was waiting a full minute before he could hear her voice.

'OK! OK! What does he want now?'

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her friend.

'Haku what's wrong?'

He nodded his head towards the elevator and they both entered it, he could see that she had no idea.

'There is a human somewhere in the bathhouse.'

Rin's eyes widened 'Are you sure?'

'Of course I'm sure, what I don't know is how it got in without anyone else noticing.'

The elevator stopped halfway up the building.

'Can you go and inform the guards of the situation, do not let any of the staff know and tell the guards not to harm the human if it imposes no threat.'

'Yes Haku, what will you do?'

'I'm going to secure the top floors, if the human got to my office, some damage could occur.'

Rin nodded once and walked off to do his bidding.

Haku closed the doors and made his way back up to his office, he was curious as to how the human made it to his world, the portal had been closed permanently. Yubaba had made sure of that. What worried him further was how the human had got into the bathhouse with only him noticing. The elevator reached the top floor and just as the door opened Haku's eyes widened in shock.

Chihiro had taken the elevator up to the highest floor, hoping to find someone with a familiar face. She slowly made her way down the hallway when she heard the sound of the elevator door opening. She whipped around and her eyes widened in surprise.

_Haku!_

She could still recognise him, only he was...bigger. His hair was longer but still ebony-green and coming down to his shoulders. His eyes were still green, they seemed quite dark at the moment. His body was lithe but he looked strong, dangerous.

'Haku?'

'Chihiro?' His expression was unreadable but a look of extreme anger overcame his beautiful features. All of a sudden he was standing right in front of her, Chihiro gasped in surprise.

'What are you doing here?' He bit out.

Chihiro was crushed at the rejection, she had hoped some part of him would be happy to see her.

'I-I I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do anymore.' A sob escaped her and she brushed past him to leave. He grabbed her arm before she could escape.

'Chihiro, what's wrong?' He said more softly.

She could only shake her head as she wept, too overwhelmed to speak.

'Will you allow me to look?' He asked softly.

She nodded, barely.

He placed two of his fingers on her forehead and she felt his power move gently through her mind. He was only there for a few seconds before he completely withdrew.

'Oh Chihiro, I'm so sorry.'

She was undone, weeks of pain and sorrow erupted. Her knees gave out but Haku caught her around the waist and kneeled down with her. Her sobs were uncontrollable, wracking her body. Haku simply held her to his chest and stroked her hair as she let go of her pain.

Haku allowed her to cry until she was completely exhausted, pressing his fingers to her temple he whispered his magic and watched as she slipped into a deep slumber.

He picked her up a frowned at how fragile she felt, surprised that she had made it this far, a surge of protectiveness overcame him as he carried her to his bedroom. He had not meant to be so fierce with her, his concern shown with anger, Haku was truly happy to see her again. He looked down and her face and noticed she was a child no longer. Her lips were a rosy pink and had a slight pout to them. Her face was heart-shaped and her eyelashes were long and thick, she still had her brown hair only it was longer and she still wore it like she did as a child. He would put off everything for the next twenty-four hours, content to have Chihiro close to him once again.

**Read and review, then buy something new!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the third chapter, I have been getting quite a few people adding this story to alerts etc but I only have one review. Guys, while I love to write, reviews keep me motivated and then I will know if the story is doing well or not. If I can spend my sad Friday night writing a chapter for you, surely you guys can write me a sentence or two?**

**Anyway have a good weekend, I get to buy my car tomorrow, YEW!**

**Chapter Three.**

Chihiro groaned, her skull was throbbing, she felt like someone was hitting her head with a hammer repeatedly.

'_What the hell did I drink last night?'_

She opened her eyes and screamed. Haku jumped back in surprise and Chihiro pushed back against the headboards pulling the blankets with her. She stared at Haku until it dawned on her what had happened last night.

'Sorry Chihiro, I did not mean to frighten you.'

'Who the hell stands over someone while they sleep anyway?' she spat at him, still a little hurt over his reaction in seeing her for the first time in 9 years.

His eyes hardened a little and his face became unreadable.

'You're not in your own world anymore Chihiro, you might want to show a little respect.' He said softly.

Chihiro felt a shiver going up her spine but was unwilling to give in.

'Fine! I'll leave then.' She put her legs on the ground and noticed they were bare. Gasping she pulled the blankets away from her a little and noticed she was very, very naked. She looked up at Haku in shock, her cheeks flaming red.

Haku's coldness was gone, instead one of his eyebrows was arched and a smirked appeared on his lips.

'I'm naked' Chihiro blurted.

At this point Haku's smirk became a full-blown grin.

'I noticed.'

'Y-you saw me...naked!'

Haku chuckled and sat on the bed a little ways from her.

'I would not dishonour you so Chihiro, I had Rin come and put you into bed.'

'Oh.' All the fight leaving her.

'Who's room am I in?' She said suspiciously

'Mine.' He said, sounding a little pleased.

She looked around in appreciation. One wall was completely filled with books, another wall had a large fire place with two comfy chairs. It was very masculine.

'It suits you.'

'Thankyou' Haku replied with a slight bow.

Haku turned serious and looked her in the eyes.

'I want to apologise about last night Chihiro, I was just surprised and worried when I saw you, which I expressed in anger.' He said meaningfully.

Chihiro merely nodded, staring down at the covers. He moved a little closer towards her and clasped her hand.

'I am very sorry to hear about your parents Chihiro, if I had known I would have tried to contact you.'

Chihiro looked up then, her eyes watering.

'Then why didn't you?'

Haku sighed. 'When you left Yubaba closed the portal to this world permanently, without my knowledge of course. By this time I had regained my full powers from remembering my name and challenged her over the bathhouse. Most of the staff favoured me so the fight was short-lived, she disappeared and no one has seen her since, though I have no doubt I will see her again.' Haku frowned at the bed covers for a moment.

'I have tried for years to open the portal but have always failed. Yet out of the blue you turn up on my doorstep.'

'Do you know why the portal opened again?' Chihiro asked.

'No, I don't but when I return you to your own world tomorrow night I will find out.'

'No!' Chihiro shouted, her eyes going wide.

'You can't stay here, as much as I want you to I don't know if your body can handle it. I won't risk your life.'

'But there is nothing for me back home, I am completely alone. I won't go back!' She cried

'There is no point arguing Chihiro, I have made up my mind and tomorrow night I am sending you back, it will not be forever, I will be able to visit you now.'

Chihiro became angry at his demanding attitude.

'You can't tell me what to do Haku, I'm not a child anymore and you are not the boss of me!' She shouted her chin lifting in a stubborn gesture.

Haku's eyes became dark and his lips curled to emit a low growl. He was not used to his orders being disobeyed. Haku leaned over her, until she was forced to lean back and his hair was brushing her cheeks. Her eyes were wide and she clutched the blankets tightly to her chest.

'Don't test my patience Chihiro and while you may not be a child you are certainly acting like one.'

Her response was to take in a much needed breath of air. His eyes flickered down to her lips and changed to a much brighter green. They stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the next move when a voice interrupted them.

'She has been here least than twenty-four hours and you are already trying to order her around.'

Haku shot up and looked at Rin with scorn.

'Don't look at me that way water boy!' Rin said, hands on her hips.

Chihiro peeked around Haku's shoulder and smiled with delight.

'Rin!'

Rin returned the smile.

'Hey Sen! I mean Chihiro, how are you feeling?'

'Erm I'm not sure.'

Suddenly Haku stood up from the bed, turned and bowed to Chihiro.

'I will leave you two in private, I'm sure you have a lot to catch-up on. Chihiro I will be back later to check on you. Don't try to leave, you won't get far.' He said arrogantly.

'I managed to get into the bathhouse without you knowing Haku, so you don't how far I will get!' She said crossing her arms across her chest.

Haku's face tightened momentarily with anger before a small smile graced his lips, his white teeth showing.

'I'll look forward to the chase.'

Then without saying good bye to Rin he walked out of the room.

Rin had watched the encounter with amusement.

'Nice work Chihiro, I haven't seen anyone stand up to him since Yubaba left.'

Chihiro flicked her hair over her shoulder.

'He's just an arrogant bully.'

Rin chuckled and vacated Haku's spot on the bed. The friends hugged each other and talked for a long while.

'So Haku wants to return me to my world. I don't want to go Rin, there is nothing for me, and I have more friends here than I do back home!'

Rin pursed her lips.

'I dunno Chihiro, trying to budge Haku once he has made a decision is near impossible.'

'Well, I'm not going, I can be just as stubborn as him.'

Rin rolled her eyes.

'I have to go back to work now, I will see you again before he makes you leave.'

Chihiro realised she was still naked.

'Um Rin, could I have some clothes please.'

Rin laughed at her predicament.

'Of course, I shall send some up immediately, I surprised the dragon didn't devour you on the spot.'

Rin left Chihiro sitting in the middle of the bed feeling very confused.

**REVIEW!...Please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone.**

**First of all I would like to say sorry for the lack of update, had bulk exam/assignments and I start prac tomorrow (student teacher) so I wanted to get this chapter out.**

**Thanks for the people who have reviewed, Sango your review made me smile and Crazy Kis I would love to read your stories but I can't find your username : ( Archon dragon, thanks for the review, Chihiro didn't blush like a tomato because she didn't understand the comment, she is still quite innocent at this moment in time.**

**There is some Haku/Chihiro romance in this, just how I like it!**

**BTW Chihiro is the most annoying name to type!**

**Oh and I don't own any of this shiz niz, unfortunately.**

CHAPTER FOUR

Chihiro had been in Haku's room for hours now and no one had come to see her since the maid had dropped off some clothes. She had explored Haku's bedroom and was frustrated to find that she couldn't pull any of the books from the shelves, realising that Haku must have put a spell on them.

For an hour she had been content to sit by the fireplace which had started on its own accord but now she was restless. She was hesitant to defy Haku but remembering the way he had treated her squashed any doubts. Chihiro decided she would visit Kamaji, she had not seen her old friend yet and she had missed hearing his comforting words of advice.

Chihiro poked her head outside the doorway and noticed it was empty. She pulled the door closed behind her and made her way down the hall, admiring the beautiful paintings until she came to the elevators. She pressed the button that would take her down and the doors opened immediately. There were 8 levels to the bathhouse not including the basement, Chihiro pressed the basement button and the elevator started to move. She thought about Haku on the trip down, he was very dominating, more than he had been when they were children. He brought out the more aggressive side of her, more than anyone else ever had.

The elevator made a noise, signalling she had arrived at her destination. Chihiro stepped out of the elevator and frowned at the sudden rise in temperature. She had forgotten how hot it was down here. She made her way down the hall until she came to the small wooden door that led to Kamaji's domain.

Chihiro slid the small door open and poked her head through. Kamaji was sitting on his chair taking orders for the busy bath house and the black soot balls were carrying coal to the furnace. A smile graced her lips. She had forgotten how cute they were. One of the balls caught a glimpse of her and dropped the coal he was carrying. He scuttled over to the edge of his courtyard and started jumping up and down making little noises. Soon the other soot balls had noticed her and they all dropped what they were doing to try and greet her. Kamaji noticed his workers commotion and started to yell at them.

'You little runts! Get back to work! Do you think this bathhouse runs on its own?'

Chihiro decided to announce her presence least the soot balls get into more trouble.

'Of course not Kamaji, we know how hard you work.' She said.

Kamaji turned his head towards the new voice.

'Who is that?'

Chihiro crawled through the door and a stood up, feigning disappointment.

'Don't you remember your old friend?'

Kamaji scrutinised her for a moment before realisation dawned.

'Chihiro! My girl, how lovely to see you again!'

Chihiro smiled and hugged her friend.

'It's good to see you to Kamaji.'

How did you end up back here? From what Haku has told me the portal had closed permanently.'

'Yeah...Interesting story that, just a second.'

Chihiro walked over to the soot balls and greeted them so they would calm down. She petted their heads softly.

'Hello, my little friends, it's good to see you too. Now you must keep working otherwise Kamaji will get angry again.'

The soot balls quietened down and happily went back to work, satisfied in seeing their friend again.

Chihiro proceeded to tell Kamaji her story while he took orders, right up to Haku saying he would send her back home.

'He is only concerned for you Chihiro, Yubaba is still out there and he doesn't want her to harm you.'

'But Kamaji, I have nothing back home, I would rather stay here, not because of the beautiful magic in this place but because I have friends here. He is being a stubborn fool.'

'I take it with his concern for your safety he doesn't know you're down here at the moment?'

'Well, um, I was bored and I wanted to make sure I could see you before the grumpy dragon sends me back home' Chihiro responded with a pout.

'Well I suggest you make your way back up again before Haku finds out, he doesn't like his orders being disobeyed.' Kamaji said while glancing at her sideways.

Chihiro was about to snap that she was not one of his workers to boss around when a loud roar echoed through the building. Chihiro's eye widened at the power of the roar.

'Well, speak of the devil, Sounds like Haku has discovered your absence.'

'That was Haku!?' Chihiro squeaked.

Kamaji chuckled at her fear.

'Don't worry Chihiro, his bark is bigger than his bite.'

'Well if that's his bark then his bite still must be pretty big!' Chihiro stood up, hugged Kamaji and made her way to the door.

'Goodbye Kamaji, I'm going to try and find Rin, she might be able to protect me from Haku.'

Kamaji chuckled at the young woman's antics.

'You'll be fine Chihiro.'

Chihiro smiled weakly in response and crawled through the door.

Chihiro took the elevator back up but instead of going back to her room she exited on the bathhouses main level. It was extremely busy and the workers barely paid attention to her. She made her way through the crowds trying to find Rin when one of the frogs stopped and gapped at her.

'Um, do you know where I can find Rin?'

The frog looked like he was about to respond when an expression of fear appeared on his face, instead he turned and ran in the opposite direction. Chihiro frowned at his reaction.

'What a rude little frog.'

She turned and her eyes widened in surprise, the whole hall was empty except for one figure standing in front of her.

'_Oh shit.'_

He looked angry, actually that was an understatement. He looked very angry.

'Hi Haku.' Chihiro said weakly.

His responded by clenching his fists and narrowing stormy green eyes. Chihiro could feel his contained anger radiating from him.

'I thought I told you to stay in your room.'

Chihiro found herself reacting before she considered her situation.

'You can't 'tell' me anything Haku!' She said with hand on hips.

A small warning growl emitted from Haku's clenched jaw.

'How many times do I have to tell you, you are not in your world anymore, you are in mine and more specifically, my domain.'

Chihiro had had enough of his arrogant manner.

'Go shove it Haku!' And without a second glance Chihiro turned her back on him and went to look for Rin.

She had only gained three paces when Haku grabbed her hips from behind. Chihiro shrieked her outrage and tried to pull free. Haku simply ignored her struggles, turned her around and hoisted her over his shoulder. Chihiro screamed in anger and proceeded to kick and pound his back, calling him every curse she knew, even Rin would have been proud.

She carried on like this all the way up to her room until Haku placed her back on her feet.

'How dare you! You stupid dragon!'

Chihiro was flushed and her hair was tousled from being upside down. Haku smirked at her dishevelled appearance. Seeing him smirk at her was the end of the line for Chihiro, she marched up to him raised her hand and went to deliver him a stinging slap. She never reached her target though and found her wrist trapped in Haku's hand.

'You forget yourself Chihiro.' He said with narrowed eyes, their green depths swirling with power.

Chihiro was beyond rational thought by this point and instead of heading his warning, raised her leg and tried to knee him. Haku simply grabbed her waist and pulled her flush against him so she had no room to move.

'Let me go.' Chihiro hissed.

'No.'

Chihiro glanced up with widened eyes, the texture of his voice had changed, it was huskier than normal. Haku was regarding her with a serious expression. His lips had formed a grim line and he was looking directly into her eyes. He looked like he was in pain

Chihiro was panting from her exertions and her tongue licked her dry lips. His gaze glanced down at her lips. She was about to ask what he was doing when all of a sudden she found his lips crushed against hers. Chihiro, at first was too surprised to respond but eventually found herself winding her arms around Haku's neck. She kissed him back and found the action very natural. Haku's hands wound themselves around her waist and Chihiro sighed with pleasure.

The kiss went on for a moment longer before Chihiro had to pull away for breath. Haku stared at her intently for a moment longer then slowly pulled himself from her. They stood staring at each other in wonder before Haku's expression became closed off once more.

'I will not allow any harm to happen to you.' He said.

Chihiro had no time to respond as he bowed and left closing the door behind him. She stood there shocked for a moment and then tried to run and open the door. She shrieked in frustration when it wouldn't budge.

Confused and tired from what happened Chihiro threw herself onto the bed and sobbed herself to sleep.

**For the love of god, Chihiro and Haku review, especially those people who add this on alerts then don't say anything. BIG no no. **


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